The Necessity of Adequate Biosafety Standards

I'm getting concerned about where the discussion is going about biosafety, diagnostics and research on pathogens. This is a field that needs tight regulation, but that cannot be abandoned, if we are even vaguely serious about the management of current and future risks.
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— Prof Francois Balloux (@BallouxFrancois) April 2, 2023

Labs with adequate biosafety standards are essential. People get ill with nasty bugs, extensively drug-resistant bacteria and vile viruses (eg. Marburg). Those bugs have to be handled and diagnosed in secure labs (BSL3/4). Any alternative to this is too mental to envision.
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— Prof Francois Balloux (@BallouxFrancois) April 2, 2023

There is an important societal discussion to be had about the balance of future pathogen research in terms of the risks entailed vs. its potential benefits. But this discussion needs to be informed and largely dispassionate.
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— Prof Francois Balloux (@BallouxFrancois) April 2, 2023

I remain largely agnostic about the origin of Covid (ie. zoonotic transmission, infected lab/field worker, or involving some genetic tweaking). But at the risk of annoying everyone, I don't believe the origin of Covid (whatever it might be) should dictate the entire debate.
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— Prof Francois Balloux (@BallouxFrancois) April 2, 2023

Rare events are rare and unpredictable, and even if they appeal to our emotions, they should not be the primary fuel for major policy decisions in the future.
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— Prof Francois Balloux (@BallouxFrancois) April 2, 2023

Assuming, as some might do, that Covid was caused by dangerous research and sloppy safety standards doesn't imply we have to get rid of biosafety labs and that research in pathogen diagnostic, and vaccine / drug development should be abandoned.
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— Prof Francois Balloux (@BallouxFrancois) April 2, 2023

An imperfect analogy is that since there may have been a pyromaniac firefighter exposed somewhere, we should close all fire stations everywhere, and people would just be alright. They wouldn't.
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— Prof Francois Balloux (@BallouxFrancois) April 2, 2023

There is arguably research on zoonotic pathogens that may be risky, and of no obvious benefit. But even blue sky research asking if "there might be a dangerous bug lurking around" can be performed in a totally safe way.
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— Prof Francois Balloux (@BallouxFrancois) April 2, 2023

The question - whatever one's view on the risks of zoonotic pathogens - should never be "do we need to know more about pathogens?"

That's a given - the answer will always be 'yes'.
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— Prof Francois Balloux (@BallouxFrancois) April 2, 2023